Productivity and employment dynamics: new evidence from Italian regions

Abstract

When productivity growth accelerates job destruction and job creation occur simultaneously. However, what effect this has on the whole economy depends on whether job creation or destruction dominates. We investigate what occurred in Italy from 1977–2003, a time when some labour market reforms were introduced, creating increased flexibility. We also investigate if there were any systematic regional differences in the employment or productivity dynamics and whether these dynamics experienced any sort of spatial externalities. The findings indicate that overall, the effect of job destruction prevailed and that the labour market reforms had a negative impact on employment.